WASHINGTON, April 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has reopened debate on the issue of voting fraud despite an earlier experts' report that said it was minimal.
The commission has two Democrats and two Republican members, and in its most recent report seen by The New York Times said "there is a great deal of debate on the pervasiveness of fraud."
The original report commissioned to a group of experts, however, said "there is widespread but not unanimous agreement that there is little polling place fraud."
The subtle word shifting was also seen with regard to voter intimidation, with the original report citing "evidence of some continued outright intimidation and suppression" of voters by local officials, especially in some American Indian communities. The final report says only that voter "intimidation is also a topic of some debate because there is little agreement concerning what constitutes actionable voter intimidation."
Republicans have long claimed voter fraud is widespread, while Democrats say the threat is overstated and have opposed voter identification laws Republicans favor.
